Self-Made Man

Self-Made Man is an extraordinary exploration of a journey most of us have imagined but will certainly never take. Norah Vincent lives a full and vibrant life as a man for a year and a half. She gives us this precious inside account of her courageous discoveries about the male gender!

Note: Audio may take several seconds to start

Norah Vincent Text Excerpt

Norah Vincent
Well I think one of the assumptions that women certainly make in the post feminist era is that it’s better being a guy . Even now, I think there was a time when you might have said that was true. Although, what I want to emphasize is that I think that was true in a shaded way.

But what I found by doing this is that in fact it isn’t better being a guy in every way. In fact, there are plenty of disadvantages to being a man. Men have advantages, no doubt, and there is such a thing as male privilege. But women have tremendous advantages as well and we tend to focus on our disadvantages. That’s really been the emphasis of feminism.

I was presented with a kind of wholer or more rounded picture by both getting inside male culture and men’s maybe mindset, let’s say. And also seeing my own sex from the outside. So seeing a little bit of what it’s like to get really a better view. People say you can only really get a full view of your self from the outside.

Tom Park
So, these advantages, this is fascinating. We all cook in the same soup in this culture. You think that the women’s advantages really are fairly balanced with the men’s advantages in our culture?

Norah Vincent
Yeh, I do. I think that we have to begin with our primarily tremendous sexual and emotional power. I think our esteem means much more to men than we realize. I think in many ways for men it is definitive of their masculinity, what women think of them.

Tom Park
Wow! Truly?

Norah Vincent
Yeh, I think so. These are generalizations to be sure. But I found that to be true in, for example, the men’s group, really all the men that I met it became clear to me. Which was a big surprise.

Tom Park
So women don’t typically grasp this?

Norah Vincent
No I don’t think we realize to the full extent how much our good opinion means to men.

Tom Park
It’s true. It’s really true

Norah Vincent
It’s a secret.

Tom Park
Yeh it is!

Norah Vincent
I’ve had men say that. Don’t tell that, don’t tell our secret……